O.k. maybe some of you don't think so... and for myself the appeal has mostly gone... but I have to admit, when I was growing up, everyone was crazy about Luke or Han Solo, and I sort of had this fetish for Darth. Maybe it was the black mask, the knee-high boots and the deep rasping voice... gawd his voice was to die for :) pardon my giddy teenager ways. BTW: This was before ANYONE KNEW from the films that Darth Vader had a 'cute' side and he'd raise from hell to be re-born. I just liked his evilness.

So I thought about it... and my conclusion, it was his 'power' I found sexy. The ability to 'control' the world around him. Why is this appealing? Because it's safe. Armageddon may be happening, the world may be ending but the man in the black mask will save the day and presumably me...

Of course, there is a bit more to this than just power, as 'evilness' is also intriguing. Dante's Inferno, which discusses the different levels of hell (I think there are nine), was a roaring success.

Evilness is shocking, different and dark - it's the epitome of the teenager angst ridden B film. Evilness AS power in itself has always been a bit sexy because it's about 'attraction' to the repressed side of ourselves in society. From an early age we're told what's not right about being 'bad' and therefore, the evilness is considered taboo. When we reach pubescent and our trying to free ourselves from the parental shackals, we look to all that might 'rebel' against the 'norm.' Evilness is right there, and it's easy to dive right in...

Demons, vampires, zombies all have the attributes of feeding into this idea that we live in a dual society and therefore, the energy of these myths bring out the 'dark' energies of our souls. But let me be perfectly clear - I believe there's nothing 'wrong' or 'bad' about exploring this side. It's actually healthy. Well, until, you make it so much of your reality that you forget the acts of compassion, decency, happiness, love and general connection we get from others. I believe it's healthy, because we can see all sides of ourselves, and we stop looking at the categories of good vs. bad etc. and just think of it as 'is'...

anyway, I'd love to hear what you think about this issue if you have an opinion...